-Internet and money exchange...
Internet was one of our living requisites! Before going on this trip, we searched for different internet options as we guessed that there would be no WIFI on the train. We came across FlexiroamX. We ordered two and got microchips to put on our sim cards. They came with a global data plan, so basically we could use them almost everywhere in the world. I would say it was pricey but was the only convenient option we found back then. (If you download the application via this link http://roam.my/YG86F7KD and register, we both will get a 100MB for free!)
“I called the bank and found out that our other ATM cards were blocked in Russia for safety reasons. (Apparently, not all officers of our banks know about this.....”
Exchanging money since you are still in your country can be a very smart idea! We didn’t! We had quite a bit of yuan (CNY) and were searching for where to exchange money in Beijing. The funny thing is that we went to a few banks and they said they didn’t have Russian Rubles! We couldn’t find a money exchange counter either. We were not sure where to check next so we decided to only rely on our ATM and credit cards. Well…during our time on Trans-Manchurian, no shop in Russia accepted credit cards. We tried to get the money from the ATM at the train station after crossing the border and ONLY ONE ATM card worked!
I called the bank and found out that our other ATM cards were blocked in Russia for safety reasons. (Apparently, not all officers of our banks know about this. We called and asked about this before going to Russia 2 times and the bank officers confirmed that our ATM cards would definitely work).
After paying for the first hostel on the day we arrived in Moscow (Friday evening), we still had enough money left for a few days, but definitely not enough for the remaining 8 days of our stay in Russia. (We spent too much for food on Trans-Manchurian!).
The next morning, we went straight to the banks and money exchange counters but found no luck to exchange from CNY to Russian Ruble. As I remember, most of them only accepted US dollar, Euro and British Pound. Some banks also accepted currencies used in European countries. (My suggestion is to always carry US dollars with you wherever you go! We totally forgot that!)
So we tried asking for help from our families to send us money via Western Union! Luckily, we still had this option. (However, due to the time difference, my family already went to bed and so I didn’t reach them.)
After the money was sent to my friend, things didn’t turn out easily as we expected. The next morning or on the third day, my friend went to the first bank and they asked for the authorized translation of the passport, which, I guess, could be managed by some legal firms. Of course, we freaked out but searched for another bank and there, they just asked to check my friend’s passport and not long after, we got the money in our hands.
Comentarios